The Cherryvalley Production Sale of Beef Shorthorn Cattle took place via timed auction on MartEye. The sale was conducted in a joint partnership with Ballymena Livestock Mart and Harrison and Hetherington Ltd.
According to the organisers, there had been “huge pre-sale interest, with crowds flocking to the viewing day to get a closer look at the award-winning herd owned by Dr. Peter Fitzgerald, Crumlin, Co. Antrim”.
The two-year-old Shorthorn heifer Cherryvalley Thriving was tipped to be a favourite in the sale, and following fierce bidding that continued over the three days of the timed auction, the heifer ended up taking the top price of the sale.
Sired by Creaga Malibu, this heifer was described as “out of one of the top cows at Cherryvalley”. The dam was Fearne Hopscotch Monique EX94 and her sire is Creaga Malibu.
Cherryvalley Thriving was scanned as seven weeks in calf to Meonside Randango and sold at £13,300 to Alfie Shaw, Glebefarm Livestock, Dungannon, Co. Tyrone.
Speaking after the bidding was completed, Alfie said:
“We are delighted to have secured this beauty of a heifer to introduce a new female line into our herd. Her dam is a powerhouse of a cow, and we are excited to see how she calves down to Meonside Randango.”
Selling at £6,500 was the much-admired Cherryvalley Tipsy Gypsy. This heifer was snapped up by Clive Richardson from Portadown in Co. Armagh.
The sire this time was Creaga Malibu, and her dam was Fearn Lassie K1500. She is eight weeks in calf to Meonside Randango.
Next up at £5,000 was the flashy roan maiden heifer Cherryvalley Waterfall selling to Co. Armagh-based breeders JMW Farms.
This Creaga Logic daughter has a proven track record on the show circuit, and was described as “one to watch for in the future”.
The entire catalogue met with lively bidding online, returning sale averages of:
- Four in-calf heifers £6,800;
- Five maiden heifers £3,040;
- 2 bulls £2,650.
The cattle were described by the sale organisers as “a credit to cattle manager Mervyn Robinson, who has excelled in recent years with 2024 being a highlight so far with an incredible success at this year’s Balmoral Show, and now being the mastermind behind their production sale”.
